Birmingham City Boss Chris Davies faces an almost impossible task, although one that League One managers would likely trade their left arm for. How do you fit so many big name signings into the same team whilst also implementing a cohesive system.
The Blues added last season’s top scorer Alfie May from fellow promotion hopefuls Charlton Athletic and also obliterated the record spend to secure the return of Jay Stansfield from Premier League Fulham to form an attack the envy of those they are competing with.
However, creating an environment that both players can thrive in could prove to be a difficult task. The man in charge has warned the pair that they need to put the team and system ahead of any pursuit or personal accolades.
Speaking ahead of their blockbuster tie with Hollywood owned Wrexham, Davies opened up on the task at hand;
On Stansfield:
“He’s a player that can play as a nine, or he can play as a winger as he did against us for Fulham, but if he’s a winger he is one that comes inside more and makes out to in runs. He can drop off and link as a 10 a little bit. He’s pretty flexible in his position.”
“With his speed and energy, I think he’s a really good player to have on the last line to be dangerous with his runs and his brightness. But he can definitely play a little bit deeper so it’s really good to have that flexibility. It gives you more unpredictability as well.”
On their striking options:
“There’s lots of examples in my career working with different strikers where they find a connection together and play together in different systems and different ways,”
“We’ve obviously got Lyndon Dykes as well, and Lukas Jutkiewicz.
“We’ve got good options there. What’s important is whatever system or role they play, they play it as a team basically. There must be a good connection between them and the other players.
“Alfie is definitely one of those that can play as a nine, as a 10, he’s even played wide. They are both similar in that they aren’t an out-and-out pure nine and that’s it.
“Lyndon is more of a focal point, and the same with Jukey, but both of them can link it a bit by dropping in. Alfie and Jay are probably even more flexible. That’s something for me to work out, how to best position them depending on the opposition.”
Can Davies Manage the Birmingham City Stars?
There will be a huge amount of pressure on Davies from the higher ups at the football club. They haven’t just backed him, but have backed him more than any League One side has been backed in their history with record spends.
This has prompted pundits to brand anything but a comprehensive title win a failure. Whilst it is not as certain as that they will be expecting promotion and if they don’t it will be considered a monumental failure.
Many had hoped that they would start slowly, and as yet they have havent shown signs of any stumbling and have ultimately settled into the league well. It will take time for some of their stars to start firing and working together, but they have enough of them that they can afford to be patience as the culminating quality of the squad should still outweigh their league rivals.
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